Failed connection to AI Companion

[Jane Morris]

I am teaching PLTW Gateway class for Introduction to Computer Science to 7th and 8th grade students. We have both desktops and laptops in our lab to use. All the devices received the image the first week of August. In a lab of 25 computers, I have 5 (3 desktops and 2 laptops) that will not connect to any tablet. I have used the same tablet with a different computer and it works on all computers but these 5. I have tried Chrome and Firefox on all machines to see if that might be it. All the machines are on the same network. I have had kids change the computer station they are at and connect with the same program and log ins and it will work. My tech guys are stumped but are willing to work with me in any way they can. Any suggestion you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Joseph Santambrogio]

Also having the same issues today, running windows 7.  Has worked all last week and earlier this week, Don't think it is an isolated to your school issue or your tech folks to work on.  I have 36 computers, 18 tablets including my laptop, and the student desktops and my tablet, can't connect to any computer with any tablet.

[Shippy2208]

I'm also having this issue, seems to be an issue with the latest companion version.

[Brittnie Keilman]

I also teach this class and until today everything was working great. Now NONE of our tablets will connect to the laptops. When they scan the QR  on the screen, nothing happens. It has totally tanked our class today. I feel like MIT App inventor must have made some change that is causing this glitch. Hopefully it is fixed ASAP! 

[Maabriani]

I'm am also having the same issue. Not happy students right now on my end...

[Brittnie Keilman]

By "this class" I mean I also teach PLTW Intro to Computer Science. 

[Jay Bohnsack]

Same here in Illinois. AI Companion was working this morning -9:00 - 10:00 central time (on school tablets and student android devices), this afternoon, it will not connect. Hope they can get it fixed soon!

[Evan Patton]

We have been able to replicate the problem on our end and are working on a solution.

Thank you for your patience,

Evan

[Evan Patton]

The rendezvous server that helps connect the AI2 website to phones was misbehaving. We have restarted it and companions should be connecting now. If you continue to have issues please let us know.

Evan

[Abraham Getzler]

If you need instant relief, try thunkable.com

but I don't see any reverse compatibility guarantees.

Also see the alternative versions section in my FAQ if under duress:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/mitappinventortest/2cd6Uz__xA0/cPQSiZpcDAAJ

(Not an official support person)

ABG

[Brittnie Keilman]

It's working here now! Thanks!

[Rocco Barletta]

I am still having trouble connecting over wifi. Never had an issue until the update came out. Tried on multiple devices and multiple networks, but still not connecting. 

[Evan Patton]

Hi Rocco,

Can you confirm that you are running companion version 2.39? If so, it is possible that the AI2 instance in the browser might be rejecting the new version. Have you tried forcing a refresh of the AI2 editor in your browser? This can typically be done by Shift+Clicking on the Refresh icon.

Another thing to test, if the above doesn't work, is to ping your phone by opening the command prompt and entering "ping <IP>" where <IP> is the IP address given in the companion app under the "scan QR code" button. If this does not complete successfully then that suggests a problem with your network because the computer cannot reach the phone.

Evan

[Kevin Saxton]

I'm struggling to get connected to AI2 companion. It was working for me all summer; it was working for my students Wednesday; it works for none of us now.

I have v2.39

My computer and tablet are on the same network.

My computer can ping the tablet's IP successfully

I've ctrl-F5 refreshed chrome. I've cleared its cache.

I've tried it in FireFox (I've never used it for AppInventor before).

I've tried a different network.

Any other suggestions?

Thank you!

[Abraham Getzler]

For what it's worth, I have a collection of Companion and Emulator links in my FAQ,

if you're running out of things to throw at the wall.

(Updates invited.)

https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/mitappinventortest/2cd6Uz__xA0/cPQSiZpcDAAJ

ABG

[Evan Patton]

Another thing to try:

1. After launching the companion, tap the "connect with code" (you do not need a six character code to do this).

2. In your web browser, try to access http://<companion-ip>:8001/

This should result a directory listing of "/" that will list assets that have been loaded to the companion during previous use. If this page fails to load or times out, then it is likely that a firewall change on your computer or in your school's network is preventing the browser from talking the companion.

Evan

[Kevin Saxton]

Thanks for the advice. 

My students are all back up and working this afternoon without any extra effort. I'm the only one still not able to connect!

On Chrome, when I run the url you gave, it does a google search for that text instead of going to the directory listing. In FireFox, it puts "www" before the < and ".com" after the > so I don't think my browsers know how to run that command! Is there a way to insist the address bar use the entered url as given?

[Evan Patton]

Hi Kevin,

You need to replace <companion-ip> with the IP address shown in the Companion's first screen where it says, below "scan QR code", "Your IP Address is: 192.168.0.0" (it will not actually be 192.168.0.0, but use the actual numbers you see there).

Evan

[Nancy Read]

Some of my devices connect and others do not. They are all the same device. This is very frustrating.